Pug Training Information

3 Key Ingredients Form the Foundation

You can find Pug Training Information almost everywhere on the Internet and in bookstores. In fact, there’s a whole industry devoted to dog training and some people make a very good living at it. Reading through some of the books and articles you soon realize that it comes down to common sense and three key ingredients that anyone can master.

The first of these three critical parts to a successful training program is consistency. Most Pugs love nothing better to please their owners and with the second key part of the program (which we’ll get to shortly) they will be naturally motivated to do exactly that. One of the biggest mistakes Pug owners make is to violate the first rule of training: be consistent. This has multiple meanings so let’s review a couple of them.

To be completely consistent in your training program you want to be very sure that you don’t send mixed signals to your little friend. Any good source for Pug training information should strongly emphasize this point. If your Pug is part a household with multiple members, make sure every one of them knows your expectations. You will be fighting a losing and very frustrating battle if one person allows one behavior while another one doesn’t. It’s frustrating to you but also to your Pug. He will be very confused and have no idea what to expect. It isn’t fair to anyone (Pug or human!) to be a part of a training program when the rules are subject to change.

This rule, by the way, applies to the trainer as well. If you want to stop a certain behavior you need to be consistent and not allow it under any circumstances. One of the most common behavior problems for Pugs is their desire to eat from the table when you’re eating. Some people have no problem with that but, for us, that is a behavior that will not be tolerated. You can never give in on this if you want the behavior to stop and you must replace that behavior with another. We’ll get to that next. But, before we do, there is one more piece to being consistent with your Pug. You’ll have better results if your training program is implemented is smaller, more manageable sessions on a consistent schedule rather than a crash course to correct an issue when it occurs. A consistent and regularly scheduled training program will pay huge dividends in the end. You’ll have steady progress and it might surprise you how much closer you become to your Pug. They love to be with their owner and they love to please an audience. Training can offer both of these benefits. It is great to study and absorb all of the Pug Training information you can find but it is also important to realize that the training process can be compared to a journey. As with any journey, much of the enjoyment is in the journey itself rather than just the destination.

The second key ingredient is positive reinforcement. There are many who will say you punish the mistakes but the best way to end up with a well behaved, non-aggressive is to follow up the first building block of training, which is consistency, with the next, which is positive reinforcement. Reward good behavior. For a Pug there is nothing better than a little treat. Have you ever noticed that they love to eat? Now, you’re probably thinking that you’ll end up with an overweight Pug which is a potentially serious issue but there are ways that you can continue the positive reinforcement without the treat. This works because your Pug will associate a sound with the reward and, in the end, a Pug loves to please his owner. This can be a very simple and valuable piece of Pug training information that you can put into practice right now. Take advantage of the fact that your Pug craves attention and having his owner take time with him and pet him in his favorite spot and say nice things to him can be reward enough for your little friend. It doesn’t always have to be food oriented. In fact, some people insist that it never be food oriented. We think the best approach is a balanced one. If you can replace the negative behaviors in your Pug with positive ones, it won’t be long before people comment on well behaved your dog is. The only thing cuter than a Pug is a well behaved Pug.

The third ingredient will almost guarantee success. If you haven’t guessed it by now, patience is the third ingredient and, perhaps, the most important part of a well designed training program. It is important to exercise patience when your Pug makes a mistake or is slow to understand what you want done. With positive reinforcement as the foundation, you don’t punish the mistakes but reward the good behavior. The importance of having patience cannot be stressed enough. This may be one of the most important pieces of Pug Training Information you will find.

There are some excellent programs and books available on this subject and we certainly encourage you to take the time and learn about some of the advanced techniques that are on the market. Just a little bit of warning – if the program doesn’t emphasize the three ingredients mentioned here, you’re fighting an uphill battle.

Good luck!

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You can use certain qualities of the Pug's personality to enhance your training methods. You can definitely make their need for companionship work in your favor. But, despite their love for food, you should think twice about using food as your Pug's only reward. Find out why - plus other Pug training tips.